Crossing the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden in rickety boats isn't the only danger for migrants making the journey. In Yemen, a country gripped by civil war, they face an increased risk of violence.
According to the International Organization of Migration, the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen is one of the busiest – and deadliest – in the world. Thousands of Africans, many from Ethiopia, risk their lives on perilous sea journeys. But despite the high number of deaths each year, the route garners less media attention than other migratory flows.
According to the International Organization of Migration (IOM), at least 558 deaths were documented in 2024, including 462 from shipwrecks, out of 60,000 people landed in Yemen in the same year alone.
Overall, the United Nations agency estimates that 3,400 people have died using this route over the past 10 years.
The IOM said that it was "working with partners to mobilize resources and deliver humanitarian assistance to protect people on the move, as well as to support the government to respond to migration crisis".
Abdusattor Esoev, the IOM's head of mission in Yemen, told RFI that: "A network of cross-border smugglers exploits the desperation of people who need better jobs and better opportunities."
Last April, East African migrants also found themselves caught up in the military escalation between the United States and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Sixty-eight people were killed and dozens more injured in US strikes on a migrant detention centre in Sanaa, a rebel stronghold.